I am a pro-business type person. In my opinion, what’s good for business is usually good for me, the Bondyweb.com and Mountain Home. So, on October 22nd, 2008 I attended the Elmore County Planning and Zoning public hearing on the proposed nuclear power plant. As I mentioned in a post from June 18th, 2008 (insert link here) I was leaning towards accepting the idea a nuclear power plant in Elmore County, Idaho. But wanting to learn more, I attended the October 22, 2008 Planning and Zoning public hearing at Mountain Home Junior High School
Citizens Try to Make Their Case
I arrive at the Mountain Home Junior High School to the sight of protester holding signs at the entrance to the parking lot. These protester certainly will never change my mind one way or the other. None the less, I decided to walk the streets and see what the protester had to say before heading inside the school for the meeting.
The “opposition group” standing on the sidewalk were for the most part young and I’m sure idealistic. Much to my surprise, they were also smiling and quite nice. I guess I’ve watched too many news reports where protesters are angry and extremely vocal (loud and obnoxious). I talked to a couple of people holding up signs and they were as friendly as most people in Idaho.
The speakers at the meeting were quite good. I don’t know who these people were but the first three appeared to be just regular citizens. They were passionate and gave well thought out speeches. These were people who live and/or work close to the proposed site of the AEHI nuclear power plant. To me it was obvious these folks have a much larger stake in this whole plan. It will affect them much more than “this” plain old citizen" of Mountain Home.
The Issue I See as Important
My feelings are anything that helps business in Mountain Home is good for Mountain Home. This nuclear power plant will likely bring a lot of new faces and families to Elmore County. This means a lot more consumers and commerce. BUT!
1. Will the initial boom of the construction phase of 5 to 7 years result in a “boom to bust” economy? With the figure of 5,000 construction workers moving into Elmore County being thrown around, I have a concern about what happens when construction is complete.
2. Will roads and local infrastructure be taxed beyond their capabilities? I don’t see how the traffic won’t increase substantially in Mountain Home. I also don’t see how our schools will be able to cope with the new families temporarily moving here.
3. Can the Snake River support the water needed for a nuclear power plant? The developers of the power plant think the Snake River can support it but the opposition, farmers and residents aren’t so sure.
4. Will the power plant permanently change the rural lifestyle of the residents of this area? Of course big industry placed in a rural setting will change the lifestyle of this sparsely populated area. I don’t think there is any question about this.
5. Will the nuclear plant bring in new jobs, businesses and more economic opportunities for Mountain Home citizens? This seems like a “no brainer”. Of course this will happen and in the long run Mountain Home will likely be better off because of it.
My Thoughts
Building a nuclear plant in Mountain Home would change Mountain Home forever. We would likely grow rapidly and the business community will thrive mightily in the short and long term. In the currently economy, what more could a person hope for? It’s like someone just gave Mountain Home an untapped gold mine…BUT!
BUT…I just cannot get past a few issues.
1. The “boom to bust” idea of temporary construction workers would be no better for Mountain Home than the current global credit crisis.
2. The waters of the Snake River are likely just as important to Elmore County than any industry that could be built here. Water is a commodity that needs to be watched closely on a global scale but when it comes to the semi-arid region we live in, it has to be watched and protected like an untapped gold mine. Could the Snake River and its tributaries also be considered southern Idaho’s gold mine?
3. As bad as this may sound, the “Not In MY Backyard” mantra is a huge part of why I just cannot fully support a nuclear power plant in Elmore County. The life long residents in this portion of the Snake River Vally must love their rural lifestyle. Imagine waking up each morning to a nuclear cooling tower centered in your kitchen window. Imagine having 1000 cars running down the highway you live on when there was once just 30 cars out there.
4. For many of the people of Elmore County, this proposed nuclear power plant will be “out of sight / out of mind”. We won’t see this power plant on a daily basis so it will be no big deal, right? Then I think about the empty lot behind my house. What happens when a developer wants to build a 2 story apartment complex on that piece of land. That could mean I’d have 20 or 30 windows where people would be looking straight into my back windows. That would also mean an huge increase in traffic and noise just 30 yards from my bedroom window.
I’d hope the people of Mountain Home would take my lifestyle into consideration before approving or supporting an apartment complex in my backyard. So, it’s because of the “out of sight / out of mind” theory that I have to say no to the nuclear power plant.
Change My Mind Won’t You?
While I currently oppose the construction of a nuclear power plant in Elmore County, I still can be swayed by facts and ideas. I’ll still attend the next two meeting to see what other people have to say. Who know, maybe they can change my mind. Want to have your say? Comment on this article or write one yourself…I’ll post it right here.